Reebok's New Travel Business

The footwear giant is about to start offering adventures around the world, but will travelers head to Costa Rica for Crossfit?

Reebok has sold trail runners for almost a decade. Now, the global shoe brand is getting into the business of selling trails. Starting this summer, Reebok will offer "Fitness Vacations" in partnership with Austin Adventures, a Billings-based, high-end outfitter that specializes in wilderness camping. The project will kick off in June as a group of guides leads a pack of Reebok execs and trainers through the wilds of southwest Montana then open to the public in early July, when civilians will begin following the same itinerary.

"We knew we wanted to offer trips and we knew we had the fitness expertise," explains Linne Kimball, Reebok's head of Licensing. "We just had to find a company to work with. A bunch of our employees had gone on Austin Adventures trips and come back say it was something special."

The Montana trip, designed to allow travelers to hike, run, bike, and climb among the Spanish Peaks, is one of four trips that will launch this year. The others will see active travelers grinding their way through Zion National Park and Costa Rica. Kimball says Reebok plans to launch another four in 2015.

Rather than sending trainers on the trips, Reebok is flying Austin Adventure's guides, who are deeply knowledgeable about the areas they cover, to the company's compound in Massachusetts and educating them about fitness. "We make sure the guides are Crossfit certified and have spent time in the gym with Reebok coaches," says Kimball. "It will be a handful to start with and more after that." Specifically, these guides will be trained to instruct travelers in Reebok's version of yoga ("Fitness Yoga") and running ("Fitness Running").

"Ultimately, our goal is to allow people to get active in the most scenic places on Earth," says Kimball. "Our partner has the ability to scale up around the globe."

More information: The first Reebok Fitness Vacation, a six-day, five-night trip to Montana, begins on July 13 and costs $2,748 per person.